Together at the End of All Things
by Swift-Dragon
Summary: This is a story about Albus and Minerva's life together... again. ADMM... sort of...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Now before you read this story I know about Dumbledore's outing. Yep that's right he's gay and I am going to use that for this story, just be patient. 

Together At the End of All Things

Albus Dumbledore funeral came to and end, but Minerva was not ready to leave yet. She took a moment to glance over at Harry who was the last person with Albus. And for a moment Harry looked back at her. She quickly looked back at the grave. Minerva could hear him walking up and then felt him sit beside her. "Hello Harry."

"Hello, Professor."

They sat there in silence just staring at the grave. Soon it was just Harry and Minerva left. Minerva glanced at Harry and he looked at her. "Is there something you need, Potter?"

"No, Professor. I'm just sitting."

Minerva smiled a small smile. She looked back at the grave to see a cloaked man there on his knees. His hooded head was bowed and Minerva did not need to see his face to know who he was. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Harry watching the stranger with curiosity and a small amount of protection if the stranger dared do anything to the grave.

"Easy, Potter." Harry looked at Minerva. "Let him have his moment."

"Do you know him?"

"Aye, I do."

Before Harry could ask anymore someone called his name. He excused himself and walked back to the castle. Minerva continued to sit there until the cloaked man stood up. He turned to her and dropped his hood. There before her stood an almost exact replica of a young Albus Dumbledore (Except without a beard). He slowly walked towards her and then dropped to his knees again.

He placed his head in her lap and began to cry softly. Minerva gently stroked his hair and tried to comfort him. Eventually her regained his composer and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry I missed the funeral."

"That's alright young one."

He laughed a little, "I'm not so young anymore."

"To me always."

"I'm sorry, Mother."

"For what?"

"For not being there for him, I could have-"

"No one could have done anything for him. Even if you two were at peace and you wanted to help, he would not have taken you. Whatever he did, what ever happened was between Harry and himself."

The young man nodded. "Was that him? Was that Harry?"

"Yes."

"So he's going to save the world."

"I suppose in a fashion, but we all know that another dark wizard will eventually rise up again. Too much good in the world unbalances it."

The young man stood and looked up at the castle, "Do you want me to stay and help you pack his office?"

"No, I have to do that my self."

"Mum…"

"Adrian." She whispered.

Adrian sighed, "Fine, I'm going to go see Uncle Abe."

Minerva shook her head, "He might not want to see you."

"I don't care." With that he walked towards Hogsmeade. Minerva slowly stood up and walked towards the grave. Kissing the lips of the marble Dumbledore she whispered, "Good bye, my love."


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly Minerva opened the door to the office. Already there was a painting of Albus Dumbledore in his chair. Cautiously, as though every step would damage the memory of him in the office, she glided to the desk. She slid her hand along its smooth surface, remembering it was her who told him he should keep it organized.

She carefully continued up the stairs behind his desk and entered a library filled with a small portion of his books. There was a table in the center of the room and it was stacked high with books and papers. The desk was so messy and disorganized it could only make Minerva smile.

A book of myths lay open. She conjured a chair and sat down. Minerva delicately picked up the book and stared at it. There was much of Albus' loopy handwriting in between lines and on the side of pages. Certain words were circled, whole sentences were underlined. She flipped through the pages being careful not to loose the original start. Every page was the same mess of notes and symbols.

Minerva felt tears return. Closing her eyes she flipped back to the first page she saw and placed it back on the table. She let some tears fall as she stood up to turn to the door on her right. Her breath was caught in her throat, she did not want to enter that room, but she knew she had to. It was the right place to start.

Slowly she opened the heavy door and entered the room. This was the most familiar room to her. Years of countless memories flooded back to her. Minerva gazed around his bedroom not knowing where to start. She walked by the wardrobe sliding her hand down the carvings on it until her hand touched the cool metal doorknob. Pausing for a moment Minerva stared out the window.

A blissful breeze urged her to continue and with the pace set from the moment she entered the office Minerva swung open the door. Albus' wonderful scent flowed over her and through her. It was hard to describe what he smelled like, all anyone could say was it smelt like Albus with a hint of lemon. Minerva brushed her hands over his robes, but stopped when she felt a bulge in a jacket pocket.

Minerva smiled knowing exactly what it was before h\she pulled it out. She held in her hand a brown packet full of lemon drops. She took one and placed the packet back in his jacket. Then she popped the lemon drop into her mouth. She closed the wardrobe and walked to the bed. She lay down on his side and buried her face into his pillow. She sat the inhaling his scent and eating his candy. Oh how he would have smiled if he saw her like this.

Minerva thought back to the first time she noticed he smelled so good. She smiled knowing it must have been at the end of her seventh year.

Minerva then was young and not even close to half as wise as some people might think. Then again many people thought that she was always as stern and to herself as she was now. This however was not true. In her time at Hogwarts Minerva was as carefree as any other student. Of course she worked hard at her school work and what not, but when she had free time, well you could barely catch her.

That's how she acted at the Graduation Ball. She laughed and danced with almost every boy. Sometimes she would have danced with three boys all in the same song. It seemed like no one could tame her or even keep her long enough to try. Sometimes this annoyed people, but others felt challenged by it and often boys competed with each other. They would brag for hours about how long they danced with her.

After a while Minerva escaped her many boyfriends and stole away to the punch bowl. There she hid away and rested, slowly loosing the smile she wore for so long. This is where the on boy, well actually, the one man managed to hold her longer then any other. Minerva was lost in her thoughts watching her classmates dance when a man stood in front of her view.

A little annoyed she looked up and was about to tell them to go away when she realized the man in front of her was her transfiguration teacher Albus Dumbledore. He was grinning at her with his eccentric grin and just like always she could help, but smile back. He sat down beside her, "How are you enjoying you dance?" He asked politely.

Minerva giggled, "Very well, I can barely keep away."

"Yes, I could see that." He agreed. "How about we teach those boys a lesson?"

"How exactly?" Minerva asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it seems to me that those boys are competing for the longest dance. Now I know for a fact the next song will be long and slow. And just think about how humiliating it would be to them if an old geezer like me beat them all out for the longest dance."

Minerva smiled and before she could answer the slow song began. Albus stood up and held out his hand. He bowed to her as she accepted and with her on his arm he escorted her to the dance floor. They danced traditionally with his hand on her hip and her hand on his shoulder and their other hands held high together. For an older man Minerva was surprised by his strength. He held close (but not too close) and tightly. She felt safe and she felt that if she fell apart it wouldn't matter because he would hold her together.

After a minute or so Minerva looked up at his blue eyes. Albus was smiling at her and that's when she first noticed how good he smelt. He smelt far better then a teacher should and found soon she had an urge. He leaned in and she suddenly knew what that urge was. Minerva rarely felt this urge, often she would fake it to please a boy, but this was different. Dancing in his arms and staring into his blue eyes Minerva wanted to kiss him. And as he leaned closer she felt her self grow red and suddenly she felt hot, but instead of kissing her he leaned past her lips and whispered in her ear, "I'm going to turn around so you can see the looks on their faces."

Leaning back he turned her and all the boys who spent most of their evening competing for her attention were staring at her and her professor with open mouths. Like his plan worked they couldn't believe that an old man like him managed to tame her. Suddenly she felt sick and as soon as the song was over she thanked him and left the hall. Minerva practically ran out the doors to find a place to cry.

Minerva blinked back tears as she returned to Albus' room. The memory of the night still stung. Getting up from his bed she walked back to his wardrobe. Opening the doors again she waved her wand and all the clothes vanish into a small brown box. Minerva then picked it up and placed it into her pocket.

Before she could do anything else a large gush of tears flowed down her face. Minerva fell to the floor not knowing what to do with her self.


	3. Chapter 3

Minerva left the bedroom and return to the main office area. She began feeling like she should just blow through this like ripping off a band aid. She pulled open the bottom left hand corner of his desk and flicked her wand. The contents within the compartment vanished. She kept this up and until she finished the left hand side and opened the very center compartment. She was about to move his items when she saw an old letter sitting on top of everything.

She sat down in his chair and pulled out the letter with her shaking hand. Slowly she unfolded it and stared at the writing on the page. It was her writing. Minerva could not believe he had kept this letter. She had written it to him a month after school finished. It was an inquiry for an apprentice position with him.

Albus Dumbledore looked over the top of his half moon glasses and into the eyes of his former student. Though it seemed she was completely calm deep within her eyes was some form of anxiety. "No why would a young woman like yourself, with so much talent, want to waste her time learning absolutely nothing from me?"

"Professor-"

"Please call me Albus; you are no longer my student."

"Albus…" She paused feeling even more nervous. "You are brilliant; you know things other wizards can only dream of."

"Thank you."

"To be a better witch there is no other teacher who could do the job better."

"Oh I could think of a few." He murmured.

She sighed, "Besides, I want you." He raised an eyebrow and Minerva reddened, "I mean I want only you to teach me, I'm comfortable with you."

"Sometimes, my dear, we need to leave what is familiar."

"I know."

Albus stared at her a little longer, "Very well then, there seems to be no stopping you. I will take you on, however in order to pay you-"

"I don't need pay." She said quickly.

"I know, however, in order to pay you the technical term will be my assistant." He said with a big smile and twinkling eyes. "And we shall be leaving in about an hour."

"Leaving?"

"Indeed. I don't spend my summer holidays here at Hogwarts."

Minerva stared at him, "Well… I'll need more time to gather my things."

"Oh I wouldn't worry. I'll send one of my house elves for you. For we must be off before another owl summons me to stay." With that he turned swiftly and waved his wand. Objects swirled around them disappearing into a small brief case that suddenly appeared on his desk. A final flick of his wand the brief case shut and locked. "That went rather smoothly, I find that sometimes certain objects refuse to leave their cozy spots."

Minerva smiled, "I suppose their just showing off because I'm here."

Albus though about that for a moment and then nodded, "I think your right." He then grabbed his cloak from the coat hanger behind him and put it on. Minerva who was so nervous before, hadn't even thought tot take hers off. "We will quickly make our way to the gate and you'll have to hold onto me while we apparate."

"Where are we going?"

"My house, of course," he said quickly as he led the way out of the office. He really wanted to get out of the castle. Minerva could barely keep up with his fast pace. She supposed having longer legs might help, but there was no time to magic that up. Jogging slightly beside him she watched his expression. His eyes were kept forward, but she could tell his mind was else where. Every once in a while his face would twitch into a smile or a frown. This lasted only seconds before it returned to his determined expression.

By the time Minerva stopped observing her professor they were already half way out to the gates. The warm sun had already dried up the dew on the grass and the gates could be seen glistening in the distance. There was a screech up above them; Minerva looked up to see a \tawny owl flying towards the castle. Albus mumbled something under his breath and for a moment Minerva thought he had actually cursed.

"Almost there," He whispered as if whispering would keep the bird from coming back to them once it realized he was not in his office. Albus opened the gates, held it open for Minerva and stepped through after her. Another distant screech was heard and both Albus and Minerva looked up to see the owl flying towards them. "Hold on tight." He said breaking her concentration on the bird.

Before Minerva could move he scooped up her hand with his and held it tight. She tightened her grip just as the squeezing sensation began. Minerva held her breath until they popped back into the world outside a large mansion. Minerva stared at it magnificence and then turned to see Albus smiling down at her. Minerva felt her cheeks burn and quickly looked down to see he was still holding her hand.

Minerva smiled and a warm sensation filled her. For a moment longer his hand lingered with hers before it let go. Minerva was disappointed, his hand was strong and it was warm. "Let's go." His deep voice sang and he led Minerva up to the house. When they reached the door her pulled out a key and began to unlock it. "I'm a little old fashioned." He said just as Minerva began to wonder why he didn't just use a locking spell. "Of course," he continued, "This is no ordinary muggle key and lock. I have too many competitors who would love to see what's behind this door."

He then gently pushed open the door and Minerva stepped through with him close behind. The entrance to the house was large with dark wood walls and a rich red carpet. A large staircase spiraled up to the many floors and each door had a different carving. Albus closed the door and mumbled some ancient language. Minerva heard the door lock. The one thing that stood out in this first glimpse of this house was that there were no pictures, no portraits, not a single painting to decorate the walls.

"Are you hungry?" He asked stirring her from her thoughts.

"No."

"Thirsty?"

"No, Professor."

He burst out laughing, "My dear, you may call me Albus now. You are no longer my student… well of sorts. But I might have to ask you to call me 'Sir' if there are guests. It will keep up our disguise."

"Alright… Albus." He smiled and those twinkling eyes nearly pulled out Minerva's heart. She could hardly breathe as he stared at her.

"Thank you, now we should get started with the basics. Now," He took her hand gently and led her to the bottom of the stairs. He released her as he began talking, again to her disappointment. "There are four floors; the top floor is my astrology laboratory, a do a lot of thinking and useless stargazing up there. The third floor is the library; I might have to convert some of the fourth floor if I get any more books." He added with a chuckle, "Second floor is where the bedrooms are, I have the master bedroom which is last on the right. You can pick which ever bedroom you like, except the third on the left, that's my brothers."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes, but you probably won't see him, he never visits. I still keep his bedroom for him though." He said with a sad smile. "The last floor is the one we're on, which is the main floor; dining room is through that door on the left, living room over there on the right. If we were on the left side there would be another door further back that is the kitchen. And over there the second door on the right is my den where I do most of my research and development."

"Research and development? Is that what you do on your holidays?"

"Indeed, it's where most of my fortune comes from as well. Come, I'll show you… But I warn you it's messy in there." He said laughing. Minerva followed him towards the den. There was a small table with an ancient bowl on it just across from the door. Minerva stared at it and noticed the table was in front of a door. "Albus?" She asked stopping.

"Yes?" He replied turning to her.

"Where does this door lead?"

Minerva looked at his face and saw a flicker of pain. He quickly recomposed and answered, "That is the basement, and I still have to go down there a fix it up. The last time I was down there… there was an accident."

"Oh." She replied.

"It's quite a ruin down there; it would be safer not to go."

"Sure. I won't f\go down there."

He smiled sadly, "Good." He then continued into his den. Minerva glanced only once more at the door before she followed him into his den.

"Where are we anyway?"

"I live in a small village called Godrics Hollow."

"Oh." She then looked around the room. It was the messiest place she had ever seen there were papers everywhere, on the chairs, on the desk, on the floor, on the walls and even on the ceiling. He had books stalked ten or more high around his desk. There were vials or different colored liquids and varying levels of transparency that lined the far wall. He had posters rolled up across his desk, some on the floor and some pinned to the wall. The only thing that would have made this place more of a pig's pen would be if he had plates and cups everywhere.

She walked into the center of the room careful not to crush any papers and turned to see Albus close the door behind her. He was smiling at her and that when she noticed a giant scorch mark across the door and wall behind him. "You weren't joking." She managed to say finally.

"No and that brings me to our first task. We have to clean up and organize this place a little, because it's gotten to a point where I can't work in here anymore." She stared at him. Minerva could not see anyone being able to work in any kind of disorganization.

"Albus I don't know how I'm suppose to help. I don't know where anything goes."

Albus pause for a moment, "True, but you can watch and you can learn." He said smiling.

Returning from her memories, the older Minerva now placed the letter back in the drawer of his desk. She had learned more in that summer then her whole seven years at Hogwarts. Albus was a magnificent teacher and his high expectations challenged Minerva to her very core. Minerva stood up from the desk and went to the door. She needed to leave; she could not take it anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

Minerva returned to her own chambers and collapsed on her couch. She no longer was crying, but her heart was still quite heavy. There was no where she could go where she would not be reminded of Albus. The setting sun shone in through her windows and something could be seen from the corner of her eye gleaming in the sun light.

She looked up at the shining object and recognized it immediately. It was a metal awarded to her when she helped Albus at the final battle with Lord Grindelwald. As it shone behind its frame Minerva began to remember the sequence of events that occurred. All of which changed her life forever.

The young Minerva entered Albus' office with a tray of tea and biscuits. She silently weaved her way through the chairs and placed the tray down in the center on a table. Albus was closest to the fireplace staring into the hot flames. Around the room sat many Aurors silently waiting for Minerva to leave. Most gave Minerva impatient stares and she in return ignored them. "Anything else, Sir?" She asked Albus, trying very hard to keep up appearances.

"No, I think that will be all. You're done for the night." He said softly staring directly into her eyes now. There was a flash of a room, hidden behind the fireplace and a secret stairway behind a painting of a staircase, which led to the room. Minerva smiled and left the room. Minerva had mere seconds to get there before the meeting began. Albus often sent images or words into her head, but only when it was necessary.

Turning the corner she found the painting and swung it open. Quietly closing it behind her she followed the staircase into the room and found a chair with a table beside it waiting for her. In front of her was a large rectangular window through which the meeting could be viewed. Sitting in the chair she waited.

"Will there be anymore interruptions, Albus?" Asked a grey haired man.

"No, she will not return, and it is late. There shall be no interruptions."

"Good," continued the man, "Albus we are in need of your help. I know you refused before, but he is too powerful. You must come with us into battle."

Albus looked back into the flames, "I can not." Albus stated flatly.

"Sir!" Pleaded a young man at the back, his dark eyes, illuminated by fire, showed fear, "I barely survived the last battle with Lord Grindelwald, we need someone like you!"

Albus looked up at the young man, "Indeed, someone like me, but not me. It would be the greatest mistake to pin us against each other."

A bearded man stood up slowly. He walked silently as he crossed the room. Kneeling before Albus he whispered so only Albus could hear, "He also requests that you duel him," Albus' eyes widened, "He said it was for the greater good."

Albus swallowed hard and stared at the chap, "When must I leave?"

The room suddenly filled with hope. Every man there began smiling, the first man who spoke answered Albus, "Tomorrow, the hour is late and Grindelwald moves further into France."

"Where shall I meet you?"

"Your brother's pub will be a fair place. It's been deserted since he left to fight."

Albus looked up, "Any word from him?" The man who had kneeled before Albus shook his head. Albus nodded and walked his guests to the front door. Minerva slipped by them in the shadows and into the living room. She heard the door close and waited for Albus to return.

When he did he stopped at the entrance to the living room and stared at her. She knew that he knew she had questions. Albus sighed and shut the door. She sat down and followed Albus with her eyes as he began to pace. "Why did you refuse them so many times?" she asked.

He paused with his back to her and sighed again, "Because I avoid anything that has to do with Gellert Grindelwald." He stated with poison. As he turned he looked at Minerva's face and knew that wasn't a good enough explanation. Sighing again, he continued pacing, "I used to be friends with him when we were young."

"Seriously?"

"Indeed, brilliant young man. At the time I was so delighted to have finally one thing that allowed me something."

"I don't understand."

"No, you wouldn't." He sighed. "I suppose I should start from the beginning." Albus sat down across the room from her. "My sister was very ill mentally and my mother had passed away at the end of my seventh year."

"I'm sorry." Minerva interrupted.

Albus nodded, "Previous to my mothers death a good friend of mine and I were going to embark on a grand journey abroad. A journey I had to cancel because of my mother's death. I took up responsibility over my brother and my sister. Oh at the time it felt like prison. I spent my days caring for my sister when I would rather have been searching for new spells to try. My brother was always much better with her and so in the summer of my eighteenth year I allowed him to take over caring for her." He took in a deep breath and continued. "On one of those blissful July days I ran into a neighbor's nephew. Whom, I'm sure you can guess, was the young Gellert. I found I had a great deal in common with him and was quite taken from that moment on."

Minerva felt her insides squirm and she nodded listening intently. Albus continued, "As you could imagine, we spent a great deal of time together, bouncing ideas off each other and showing each other new tricks. Eventually Gellert got me into finding the Deathly Hallows."

Minerva almost laughed, "That's from

A child's story, they don't really exist."

Albus half smiled, "Oh my dear, they do indeed. Perhaps not created like in the legend, but they exist." Minerva stared at Albus and he stared back.

"I'm sorry, continue please."

Albus nodded and went on, "We became obsessed with finding these objects and not only that but we began to dream up a perfect world. One of wizard supremacy." He paused again looking at the horror on Minerva's face.

"Y-you helped create his campaign?" She whispered her heart breaking "Is that why you refuse to fight him? You hope he will win?"

Albus frowned and his face grew red, "No, Ms. McGonagall." His voice seemed to deepen and the fire gave his face a suddenly eerie appearance as his eyes darkened, "Yes, I helped shape his ideals and hopes for this world, but I soon learned after he killed my sister that I no longer shared those ideals and hopes. And forever will I live with the guilt of that."

The room was silent and Minerva could no longer look at him. She turned away frightened and confused. She closed her eyes and tears suddenly over whelmed her. A cold hand touched her burning cheeks and turned her face back towards where Albus sat. She opened her eyes to stare into blue ones. Albus kneeling before her gave her an apologetic look, "Dear young one, if he had not shown me his true colors I would be there at his side now. That young man earlier had to remind me why I stopped before it truly began." Minerva inhaled deeply, "The truth is, I loved him and I don't know if I could fight him."

Minerva's eyes widened and her stomach twisted, "You loved him?"

Albus nodded, "So much so that someone had to die before I stopped turning a blind eye. I will make this right again, it's my duty."

Minerva swallowed hard, "I should come with you."

"No, I can not risk it. You are too young for this war." He stood up and throwing a cloak over his shoulders and left Minerva. She watched the man who broke her heart walk towards his possible death. She waited for him to get ahead before she followed.


	5. Chapter 5

Minerva opened the front door to find Albus had already disappeared. Sighing she turned to close the door and lock it like Albus showed her. Breathing shallowly, Minerva swallowed back her fears. She had only apparated a couple of times by herself, but Albus was always there incase something went wrong. Minerva inhaled deeply and felt everything tighten. Opening her eyes, her lungs expanded and Minerva found herself outside the Hogshead. The chill of early morning with the oddly silent street sent shivers down her spine.

Quickly she checked herself to make sure nothing was missing and then went around the pub to find the back entrance. The door, she found, was wide open, hanging on a single hinge. Minerva slowly peered inside. A goat pushing past made her jump. Laughing at her self Minerva crept inside.

Minerva followed hushed voice and hiding in the shadows she came up behind the counter. Easily Minerva could see cloaked figures standing around one of the few remaining tables, Albus was one of them. He turned slightly in her direction and Minerva quickly ducked under the counter. Crouching in the dust and dirt Minerva listened.

"Are we all here now?" Came a deep voice.

"Yes, yes." An impatient voice whispered.

The first voice spoke again, "Now up until last night, Grindelwald was in France. I've just received word that he has returned to the heart of Germany."

"Why would he go back?" Asked a female voice, surprising Minerva, it was common knowledge that most witches stayed out of the war.

"There was an attempted breakout at his prison, Nurmengard. If we hurry the battle will still be waging."

"You seem very sure of this." Albus' voice rang through the dimly lit pub, "How do you know?"

"Because, the breakout began two hours ago under my orders, it's a distraction until we can get you there."

Minerva could tell Albus was frowning, "Why did we not leave earlier?"

"Surprise, sir, surprise. Every time something like this happens Grindelwald panics slightly. He wants to face you; if enough time passes he settles and thinks you won't come, because quite frankly you never come."

Albus sighed pausing to think for a moment, "Nurmengard?" he asked. He must have received a nod, "Then let us be off." Within minutes there were a couple of popping noises. Minerva waited an extra ten minutes before daring to peek over the counter.

The pub was empty. She swallowed hard again, knowing that what she was about to do would probably be the most dangerous event of her life. But she had to go, for him. Even if he… Closing her eyes she thought of Nurmengard and vanished.

Minerva reappeared in a clearing; the skies were full of dark clouds threatening at any moment to burst. In the distance a tall black tower could be seen. Minerva felt entranced by the ominous scene until a spell flew by and hit the tree behind her. Instantly it burst into flames sending Minerva into a near by bush.

Lying on her stomach she surveyed the scene. Parts of the forest were on fire and explosions seemed to be going off every other second. She could see dark figures ran after each other casting spells every which way. In front of her eyes she saw a scuffle of feet and a flash of green. A man fell and his unseeing eyes stared into Minerva's. Fear penetrated Minerva and she could feel the blood draining from her face. For a moment she couldn't breath and then she remembered why she was here. Minerva pushed back her fear and threw her self onto the field.

She started running towards the first set of fighters she could see. Two of Grindelwald's against one of theirs. "Stupefy!" Minerva yelled blasting one of Grindelwald's men ten feet into the air. The two remaining wizards turned in surprise at Minerva's sudden appearance. The wizard on her side stopped staring first and finished off his remaining opponent. He turned to her and nodded thanks before he ran off to find another fight.

Minerva smiled and ran towards the tower hoping that's where Grindelwald and Albus would be. Suddenly an explosion came from the right sending Minerva flying to the ground. Minerva cried out as a sharp pain tore from her hip bone to her shoulder. With uncontrollable tears she picked herself up and began jogging, any faster and the pain would be unbearable.

She came out of the smoke and found a wizard disarming another. But in one movement the disarmed wizard let go of his wand (Not watching it fly away) and reached over to his hip to pull out a knife. Minerva saw his blue eyes flash as he threw the dagger at his opponent. His opponent barely caught the wand before the dagger hit his heart. "Albus!" She cried running over to the man who survived.

He turned and gave her a look. Suddenly she realized it wasn't Albus, this man was a bit shorter and far more bulky. He turned back to the dead wizard and pulled his dagger out. Placing the dagger back in its sheath he picked up his wand. Minerva stopped in front of him.

"Sorry," She began staring at the body in front of them, "Though you were someone else."

He grunted, "Yeah I get that a lot."

Minerva looked up at the man. He had shoulder length auburn hair and a scruffy beard proving he had not shaved in a couple of weeks. His bright blue stared at her. Minerva gaped at him; he looked very much like Albus with few small differences. "The name's Aberforth." He said after a minute, "My brother is over by the tower I think."

"You're his brother?"

Aberforth didn't respond he just pushed Minerva to the ground. Minerva looked up in time to see a pike impale Aberforth. She flipped over to see a troll had now joined the fight. Feeling the adrenaline again, Minerva picked up her wand and mumbled some carefully chosen words. Purple light erupted from her wand blasting through the troll. It quickly collapsed into a crumpled pile.

Minerva bent down over Aberforth; he was gasping and sputtering blood. Minerva looked at the pike and saw it had missed the center of Aberforth's stomach; instead it was sticking through his left side. "Remind me not to piss you off." He said; laughing and coughing at the same time.

"Come on, I have to get you to the trees." Minerva helped Aberforth up. He grunted and moaned as they limped over to the tree line. Lucky for them a medic witch saw them and came running over. She didn't wait for an explanation just pulled out the pike, Aberforth barely able to make a sound it hurt so much. She then tore off the top of his robes and washed off some of the blood. The witch waved her wand while pouring a green liquid into the bleeding hole.

Aberforth turned to Minerva, "Go, I'm in good hands, go help my brother." He inhaled sharply as the witch applied pressure to the wound. Minerva watch the witch wrapped a clean bandage around Aberforths muscular stomach. "Go!" He shouted giving her a small push with his right hand.

As she ran through the haze and inappropriate thought crossed her mind. She wondered if Albus was as muscular as Aberforth. Feeling shameful she quickly shook away the thought and focused on the battle scene. It seemed Grindelwald's forces were loosing as it appeared that there were more allies fighting now. Scanning the field she spotted him. Albus was only twenty feet from the tower, but his progress was slowed by wizards continuously jumping at him.

Minerva continued running towards him, looking for a way to help. As Albus turned to deal with a wizard in front of him Minerva saw another creeping up from behind. She silently cast a spell sending the wizard flying. Albus finished off his man and turned to see who saved him. His smile faded and he became angry when he realized it was Minerva.

"What are you doing here?" He shouted.

"I came to help, and your welcome!" She shouted back disarming another wizard in the distance.

"I told you not to come!" He said turning to wipe out another wizard attempting to attack him.

"Well clearly I wasn't listening." She shouted. Something cold and slushy hit her head. She looked up and another hit her face. It was beginning to sleet. "Oh perfect!" she yelled over top of the sudden down pour.

Albus pushed hair back from his face, "Go back to Godrics Hollow now!"

"No!"

"Just do it!" He shouted blasting a wizard behind her.

Her stomach knotted again, she had to do it. Minerva grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him down. She pressed her lips hard against his, she kissed him with a crazed passion. Upon releasing him she responded, "I love you! And I'm not leaving you!"

His normally sparkling eyes were like piecing ice daggers as he stared at her lost for words. Releasing her grip on Albus' robes she pushed him towards the tower. "GO!" She shouted. "I'll cover you."

He stared at her and staggered towards the tower. She was close behind blasting wizards out of their way. As they came closer an icy wind blew through them and cleared some of the smoke. Grindelwald could be seen duel a wizard in front of the towers gates. Grindelwald finished off the poor man as Albus came near. Any witch or wizard close enough to see froze for a moment to witness two great wizards acknowledge each other.

"Gellert!" Albus shouted.

"Albus!" Grindelwald yelled back, smiling widely, "I did not think I would see you again until my campaign reached Britain!" Albus said nothing. "Can you believe it, Albus? At last it's almost here. Our dream is so close I can taste it."

"No, Gellert."

"Oh, but Albus look!" Grindelwald pointed to the gates, and written above them was a mantra Grindelwald read out, "For the greater good!" He was so pleased. "Forty years Albus! Forty years it has taken for this to become reality. There's still time, come over to my side and we can rule just like we planned!"

Minerva watched the seen in front of her and she could see Albus fighting with himself. For a moment she thought he might have been crying. "No, Gellert, the world can not be so."

"What about your sister? Do you remember what those muggles did to her?"

Albus looked torn, "And I remember what you did to her."

"How can you be sure it was me? Where you not fighting as well? You can not blame me for everything!"

Albus breathed a shuttered breathe. "Gellert, the world is not ready and neither are we."

Grindelwald frowned, "Then you shall die with the old ways." With a flick of his wand he sent a thick stream of fire towards Albus. Like a ball Albus caught the fire and threw it back. Grindelwald wiped the fire away before it even warmed his skin. In the mean time Albus pulled out his wand. The two wizards stood face to face, wands pointed at each other. They were barely separated by ten feet. The sleet came down hard as they began their dance.

Soon all the wizards and witches stopped dueling each other and turned to watch this magnificent dance of light, color, and pain. Sometimes the spells were visible and sometimes only the effects were seen. Albus was first to be injured by an explosion the seared his left arm. Grimacing at the pain he swung around and land at his knees knocking Grindelwald to his back.

Grindelwald flew up without even a flick of his wand and threw another brightly colored stream of magic at Albus. Albus dodged and returned the same spell. It seemed neither were winning or losing and no one had even a second of an upper hand. Then at the same time they tried to disarm each other. The wands flew up and landed in the mud.

Minerva ran forward and picked up Albus' wand. She moved to give it to him. Albus held up a hand stopping her. Grindelwald watched him in disbelief as he snatched his wand from one of his followers who had also picked it up. Grindelwald held his wand high. The next events happened so slowly for Minerva. Albus took a step forward and thrust out his arm like an arrow. Grindelwald brought down his wand and saw what Albus was doing. Fear flooded his face. Out of Albus' hand came a barely visible black cloud. It sped through the air and shattered into Grindelwalds chest.

Grindelwald flew backwards and crashed into the gates so hard that the metal bent around him, holding him there. Albus walked forward and picked up Grindelwalds wand and examined it for a second. Then looking up at Grindelwald he bore no expression upon his face. Everyone present watched as Albus flicked the wand and released Grindelwald from the metal. Keeping Grindelwald floating in front of him he directed the wizard into the tower. Minerva gripped Albus' wand tightly and followed.

She knew Albus knew she was following, but neither dared to speak. Even Grindelwald was silent. The only sounds were the splahing of sleet and their foot steps echoing off the cold stone walls. They climbed the stairs for what seemed like for ever and never once did the tension lessen. Finally they reached the top floor. There was only one cell on this floor and Minerva wondered if it was meant for Albus.

The cell door opened with a loud clang and Albus lowered Grindelwald inside. As soon as he touched the cold floor Grindelwald scooted as far from Albus as possible. Albus still had no expression as he personally shut the cell door. "Gaz!" He shouted. There was a crack and a house elf appeared at his side bowing deeply. "Gaz, I have a request for you."

"Anything, sir." The house elf said bowing again.

"Keep Gellert Grindelwald in this cell. Bring him three meals a day. I will send items to occupy his mind."

"Yes, sir."

"He will never leave this tower and he will never do harm to others or himself again."

"Yes, sir."

Grindelwald finally looked up into Albus' eyes. "From this moment on, all life will believe you are dead. You will receive no visitors or contact from the world beyond this cell."

At this Grindelwald screamed and through himself against the cell bars. He shook them and tried his hardest to bend them. Screaming and yelling in anger. He began cursing at Albus throwing him self around. Albus flicked Grindelwalds wand and a red spell blasted Grindelwald to the ground, where he lay unconscious.

Albus turned to Minerva and stared at her for a moment before brushing past her. Minerva followed him down the stairs. They reached the ground and walked out into the sleet. Minerva began shivering as they passed through the gates. Albus turned a flicked the wand. The gate repaired it self and thick long chains wrapped around the bars with a lock holding them in place.

Albus turned back to the crowd in front of him. "Grindelwald is dead; this place is to be abandoned and will be forbidden to all."

There was silence and then a sudden burst of cheers as everyone finally felt it was over. Even Grindelwalds men were cheering. Minerva couldn't help smiling until she looked at Albus who was the only one without expression. Soon Grindelwalds followers were arrested and taken away and the remaining wizards picked up the dead or wounded. All around Minerva there where moans and popping sounds. Albus turned back to the tower and mumbled some enchantments. Minerva watched as the tower changed. It was like she couldn't see it even though she knew it was there. A feeling inside her made her want to leave. As she stared it grew stronger, forcing her to walk away.

As she walked through the clearing a half naked man in bandages walked towards her. "Hello again." He greeted smiling. She couldn't help smiling at Aberforth now. With only half his robes he looked like he was wearing a skirt. "I guess we won." He muttered.

Minerva nodded, "Yes we did."

He smiled sadly, "Was it my brother who…?"

"Yes." She paused lost for a moment in thought, "Aren't you cold?" She asked.

"Very." He replied.

"Well come on, we should get back home." She grabbed his hand and started pulling him away.

"No, I want to wait for Albus."

"Trust me, you don't."

Aberforth looked down at her, "What happened?" Minerva was about to open her mouth when Aberforth interrupted. "Albus?"

Minerva turned to see Albus striding out of the smoke. He paused for a minute when he saw Aberforth and suddenly broke into a smile. He ran towards his brother a pulled him into a hug. Both in tears the brothers were happy to see each other. "I did it Aberforth."

"Yeah, so I heard." Aberforth replied coolly.

Albus released his brother and then looked at Minerva. "Have you met Minerva McGonagall already?"

"Actually this is the first proper introduction." He then cursed, "It's cold, let's get out of here!"

Albus nodded and watched his brother vanished with a crack; he turned slowly to Minerva and stared at her. Minerva looked away briefly blushing, remembering what she did earlier. She looked back to see his hand held out to her. Minerva smiled and took it relieved. Minerva and Albus were the last ones to leave the battlefield


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry about the super long break, it's just been crazy with the holidays and what not. So I'll try harder to keep updates coming and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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The young Minerva woke in a familiar room, but was confused as to why she was there. The hospital wing of Hogwarts was dimly light by candles and by the silence in the castle and darkness in the windows, Minerva knew it was late in the evening. She sat up feeling very stiff in her left hip and began scoping out the room for some sign of life.

"Ah, you're awake." Said a voice to her left which made her jump.

She spun her head around to see a cleaner version of Aberforth. His hair was a couple of inches shorter and his beard was gone. Aberforth sat down beside her and placed a tray of food on the bedside table.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Well you disobeyed Albus, went to fight-"

Minerva laughed, "After that, I don't remember returning."

Aberforth nodded, "Apparently you broke your left hip, in two places. Turns out that will cause a great deal of pain." She was silent, but smiled at his attempted humor. "As Albus tells me the moment you landed outside of Hogwarts you were in terrible pain. Like the great knight Albus is, he scooped you off your feet and ran you straight here. You blacked out a couple of minutes after that."

"That's it?"

"I'm guessing you also had some form of concussion, but I'm no doctor."

Minerva looked at the blanket pretending to see something interesting, "Where's Albus?"

Aberforth snorted, "Wasn't able to escape the party in the great hall." Minerva looked up at him, "So I said I would stay with you."

"You didn't have to."

"Well as I recall you saved me from two wizards and a troll, just think of this the start of your repayment." He added with a smile.

She smiled back and a comfortable silence dropped between them. Aberforth stared at her with eyes that were far too familiar. Minerva kept her face turned away, but she could still feel his eyes trying to read her. A door was thrown open and both Minerva and Aberforth jumped. Their heads turned to the door as Albus came practically dancing in.

"Look at what I found!" He nearly shouted, Minerva glanced at Aberforth and knew he was thinking the same thing. Has Albus been drinking?

His stumbling and rather clumsy way of sitting on the edge of Minerva's bed proved the answer was yes. Albus continued once he felt he was somewhat balanced, "There are initials on this wand!" He exclaimed, "And a peculiar symbol."

Minerva stared at him not knowing what to say, but he kept grinning insanely at them hoping they would connect the dots. "So what does that mean?" Minerva asked after a minute or so.

"It means, my dear, that this is the Elder Wand!"

Aberforth attitude changed immediately at the words, Minerva could feel his anger growing, "Albus, are you sure? The Elder wand is just a myth, isn't it?" Minerva asked quickly before Aberforth could speak.

"I told you before they are real; the story of Death being the creator of the objects clearly is fiction!" He shouted slurring his words, "But, Yes, oh yes! I am very sure!" He shouted and scooted closer to Minerva, she could smell the Alcohol on him, "Look here." He said pointing the hilt of the wand at her. There carved into the wood was a triangle with a circle carved into it and a line running though the middle. "That's the symbols for the Hallows."

With a very controlled voice Aberforth spoke, "Albus that is a fairy tale. Grindelwald probably carved that in there himself."

Albus quickly stood up and pointed the wand at Aberforth, "Gellert would not do that!"

Aberforth did not like having a wand pointed at him, "Are you out of your mind?!" Aberforth shouted, "I SUPPOSE GELLERT DIDN'T KILL ARIANA!" Albus stared at Aberforth stunned and Minerva could see the guilt bleeding through. Aberforth seemed to have had enough. He pulled back a strong arm and punched Albus in the nose. Albus flew back onto the bed out cold.

"What did you do that for?" Minerva asked completely in shock.

"He pointed his wand at me!"

"He's drunk!"

"Exactly, he'll thank me later, maybe not for his nose, but perhaps for some unneeded attention." Aberforth then grabbed Albus by the front of his robes and threw him over his shoulder. "Grab his wand and show me to his chambers."

Minerva picked up the wand and slipped out of the bed. Quietly they snuck down the hallways and into Albus' chambers. Aberforth, not so gently, put his brother on his bed. "Damn it, he's bleeding." Minerva looked down at the now bloody face of Albus Dumbledore.

"You didn't have to punch him."

Aberforth grunted.

"I'm serious."

Aberforth turned to her with fury in his eyes, "That subject he so excitedly spoke about is what caused my sisters death. I was not going to listen to another conversation about the Deathly Hallows again." Minerva was silent knowing that Aberforth barely had control at that moment.

Aberforth pulled out his own wand and stopped the bleeding, he then repaired Albus' nose, though not as well as many would hope. Albus' nose was now crooked in a second place. Minerva and Aberforth stared at Albus for a long time before Minerva attempted to speak.

"It's not completely his fault." She said quietly.

Aberforth growled, "And what would you know about my family?"

"I know enough!"

"If only it was so. Do you know why my brother was drunk tonight?" Minerva was silent, "He was drunk because he was great pals with Grindelwald and at times I have wondered if it was more then that. He's drunk because he feels guilty for neglecting my sister and me while he played with his new friend. He's unconscious right now because once again I had to stop him before it got too serious. And if you really know what happened then you know I stepped in too late and my sister died! So I'm sorry I'm not more sympathetic to his games, but someone has to step in before more people get hurt."

Minerva stared at Aberforth and then looked at Albus. Aberforth inhaled sharply, "He would never hurt anyone on purpose."

Aberforth paused, "If only that were true."

"What?"

"I could tell you, but you wouldn't believe me, so I'll show you." He said softly. He walked over to the fireplace and with his wand started a fire. Out of his pocket he pulled a small black pouch. He poured some powder into his hand and threw it on the flames. Upon them turning green he stepped in and shouted, "The Hogshead Pub!" He vanished and the room was silent.

Minerva sat on the edge of Albus' bed wondering if she was supposed to follow Aberforth. After what seemed like forever the flames turned green again and Aberforth stepped out of the fireplace. He turned to Minerva and held out a folded piece of paper. "What's this?" asked Minerva.

"I thought you should be warned."

"Warned about what? What is this?"

"It's a letter from Grindelwald to Albus. This one is the most detailed about Albus' part in Grindelwald Campaign."

Minerva stared at the parchment in her hand, "He told me very briefly about this, he grew angry when I questioned him."

Aberforth stared at her, "You know?"

"I told you I knew enough." She paused looking down at the paper again, "Why did you keep this?"

"It was a reminder."

"Of what?"

His blue eyes were like ice again as he stared at her, "Of what it cost for my brother to see the truth about the man, I think, he loved."

Minerva felt her stomach knot again and felt her face grow red, "You are a very confusing person." She stated trying to avert him from seeing her emotions."

Aberforth sat down beside her, "I feel like a confused person. I care for my brother, but I hate him so much…"

Minerva looked up at Aberforth and he looked down at her. Then he laughed, "I can't believe I'm telling you all this, I don't even know you." She smiled not knowing what to say, but he continued to stare at her intensely.

Feeling a little uncomfortable she stood up and walked towards the fire. "I think you need to let go."

Aberforth looked down, "I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't…" He sighed, "I should go, and will you look after him?" He asked nodding in Albus' direction.

"That's part of my job."

Aberforth smiled and left via floor powder. Minerva left in the silence of the room stared at Albus' resting body and wondered how much like Aberforth he was.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I apologies again for the lengthy wait between chapters, but this one was particularly hard to write. I rewrote it about 5-6 times. I really like ADMM, but at the same time want to respect JKR's character revelation the Dumbledore is gay. However I still ended up leaning more on the ADMM side, but in later chapters I'll bring more up. If this has made any sense then Hooray!

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The walk down to the Hogshead was particularly short that day. Adrian barely had time to even consider how he was going to approach his uncle let alone talk to him. He stood outside the pubs door for ten minutes, in which time people who walked by shouted to him that the Hogshead was not the best place for a drink. He merely smiled and nodded to them careful not to show too much of his face. When finally he reached out for the handle just as the door swung open.

"I'm closed today!" Shouted a man.

"As you ought to be," Adrian replied lifting his head enough for his uncle to see.

"Oh," Aberforth said gruffly, "Figures it would be you." Aberforth turned his back to Adrian, but left the door open.

Staring at the empty hole, Adrian sighed and followed, closing the door behind him. He took a moment to in take the familiar seen of the dark and dusty pub. He had too many memories here, some great, others perhaps better left forgotten. By the time he made it up stairs Aberforth already had two cups and a dusty green bottle waiting.

"Can't do this without alcohol?" Adrian teased.

"Can't do much these days," Aberforth grumbled. They sat down and Aberforth poured them drinks. "I didn't see you at the funeral." Aberforth began, obviously trying to make small talk while avoiding Adrian's eyes.

"Yes, well, I'm sure my father would have loved to see 'Dumbledore's Secret Son" plastered all over the daily profit." Adrian chuckled, "Such a curse to have such an uncanny similarity to my father." Aberforth grunted. Adrian drank from his cup. The drink burned his mouth and throat like firewisky, but tasted unlike anything he had drunk before, leaving a tingling sensation behind. "What is this?" He asked staring at the liquid.

"Dragon's Rum." Aberforth replied.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, "Dragon's Rum?"

"Yes… Your father invented it a few years after he published his twelve uses of dragon's blood." Aberforth paused, "He thought thirteen was too much for the modern world." Adrian shrugged and together they sat in silence lost in their own thoughts. "So," Aberforth began again, "What brings you here?"

"Quite frankly I only have two living relatives, one wishes to be alone and the other has not made a preference to company."

Aberforth raised an eyebrow, "You expect me to believe that, boy?"

"Yes."

"Then you're a fool."

"If you're so smart why don't you tell me why I'm here?"

Aberforth glared at Adrian with his icy eyes, "You're here because you have unresolved issues and I'm the closest you'll get to resolution."

Adrian was taken back, "That was… very insightful."

"Yeah, well people forget that I was smart too, not brilliant like Albus, but above average." Adrian froze at the name. Aberforth laughed and then they were left in silence again. After a moment Aberforth softened his approach, "I was sent a number of times to find you."

Adrian looked at his uncle, "I know…"

They were silent, "Well, come on then, where've you been hiding?"

Adrian grinned, "In time."

Aberforth laughed, "Time agent, eh?"

"Yeah, had to join the Canadian agency, changed my appearance too."

"And your name, I suppose?"

"Just my last, used mum's maiden name, she's not as well known as…" Adrian trialed off

After a pause Aberforth continued, "So how did you know to come back? Traveling in time, you might have lost track of time."

"I was on holiday actually, spending some time in the Rocky Mountains when I woke up one morning to Fawkes." Adrian caught Aberfroths eye. "It's been a long time since I had seen him. I wondered if… if he had been sent to find me. Unfortunately it was not under the circumstances I thought it would be." They were silent again, a trend that was staring to annoy Adrian. Finally he spoke again, "Why didn't he try to find me? Or Mother?"

"I think he was ashamed, I think he knew you were right." Aberforth sighed, "Your mother did try as well, however like me gave up over time."

The silence was like murder, every second passed with a pain too deep to fix. Adrian looked at his uncle and asked, "How?"

Aberforth raised an eyebrow, "How what?"

"I had always confused me, ever since I found out. How did they end up married?"

"Both had their reasons."

"That's helpful!" Adrian said angrily finally breaking the apathy of the room.

"Oh, shut it! And stop acting like a teenager." Aberforth finally looked up into Adrian's eyes, "You should be asking your mother this, not me."

"But I am asking you."

Aberforth glared at him for sometime, "They never actually married, however, they promised to stay together."

Back at Hogwarts Minerva was thinking about the same thing. She was remembering what bound them together properly. And it was one thing, or actually one person, Adrian.

It had been two years since the fall of Grindelwald, and Minerva was returning to Hogwarts one night to talk to a certain Transfiguration teacher. Since the end of the war Minerva had been working in a particularly challenging and secret portion of the Ministry. However almost daily she had been bombarded with owls from the Aurors. It seemed someone had told them about her part in the battle with Grindelwald and her apprenticeship with one of the greatest wizards of the age. This someone was the same person she was seeing that night.

After Minerva took her job she and Albus had not seen much of each other, they sent owls and maybe had dinner once in a while, but did not spend as much time together as Minerva would have liked. But again, since the war Albus was oddly distant to the world. Of course he did appearances or helped the Ministry, but mostly kept to himself. So using the excuse that she was there to ask him to stop making suggestions to the Aurors was a perfect chance to drop in unannounced.

As she had walked up to the castle she noticed his chambers were lit so it surprised her that no one answered when she knocked. Again she knocked on his door only to hear shuffling and someone stumbling over what sounded like a pile of books. But he did not answer. Finally she shouted through the door, "Albus, I know you're in there!"

There was a moment of silence, "No I'm not." His voice sounded strange and then she realized he was trying to magically convince her to go away.

"Albus, your not fooling me, now let me in."

It was silent again, "I'm not here."

Minerva shook her head, mumbling some words and flicking her wand she heard a click and the door opened. She cautiously entered only to drop he caution immediately. Albus sat lopsided in one of his chairs and by his angle it looked like he had tripped and fallen into place. His glasses were missing so he squinted at her as she closed the door.

"Not here, eh?" she asked him playfully.

"I'm not." He said with a slight haze to his voice.

Minerva sighed; this is why he locked himself away. She witnessed right in front of her an Albus that was trying to drown his sorrow and pain with something that was definitely not pumpkin juice.

"Albus, come on. You should sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." She helped him out of the chair and guided him safely to his bed, wondering where all his resistance had gone. She moved to let him sit on the bedside and as he did he pulled her down beside him.

"It's my entire fault." He muttered.

"What is?" She asked as she took off his boots for him.

"Everyone's sadness, it's my fault. Everyone I touch becomes crestfallen… fallen…"

Minerva dropped his second boot on the floor, "That's not true."

"Oh yes it is." He said beginning to slur his words. "My brother, you… especially you. Had I not accepted your application you would probably be in a better job, maybe even married."

Minerva flashed him such a look that even through his drunken haze he froze, "Marriage is not a priority of mine, and being your apprentice was one of the best things I could have done."

Albus shook his head slowly, "No, no, it wasn't." His blue eyes froze her to the spot, "I see the way you look at me. You're very good at disguising it, but I see it. I took your heart and now no matter what no one will make you happy." Minerva felt her stomach drop and she looked away. His cold hand rest on her cheek and he gently moved her face back towards him.

He was very close now, "Out of all the things I've done to you, let me make this up." And then he kissed her, it was soft and gentle.

Minerva quickly pulled back, "No, Albus, this is not you. This is not what you want."

He stared her, his eyes consuming her, "You don't know that, besides I know you want this too." And then she let him have her.


	8. Chapter 8

Minerva could remember the morning after quite clearly. The first thing she felt when she woke was the soft sheets, already her mind began working out where she was. Realizing she was in bed her mind moved on to the next uncomfortable thought, which was how warm she was. She began to stretch and move a little but something held her in place. At this point she slowly opened her eyes. The blood in her face drained and her stomach knotted. Fear flooded through her.

As her body began to wake up she then felt exactly what held her in place. A man, specifically Albus, was holding her close to him, one arm around her torso and another over her shoulder. She could feel his soft beard and warm breath on her neck. Through all the panic and noise in her head, he was still asleep.

The events from the past night came back to her as she calmed herself down. And now different worries began to play through her. She wondered how he would react when he woke. Would he remember what happened? Would he be angry? Sad? Happy? But she knew him well enough to almost predict his reaction.

His feelings, beyond friendship, have always been unknown and yet known all at the same time. He'll take her hand or stare at her for long minutes, but be completely unresponsive or down right oblivious to her own attempts. Whether or not he remembers what happened he will be able to quickly figure it out. And of course before he says anything his mind will be working out all possibilities and outcomes of that night. She could see his face already going from confused to puzzled to thinking to anger and then to guilt. He will blame himself for this because he will know he 'forced' it to happen.

Minerva sighed knowing he will not want to see her again and force himself to believe that's what she wants too. Minerva sighed again, slowly and gently she turned around so she could see his face. His face was content almost happy. She watched him sleep there peacefully wondering if she should just disturb his graceful slumber now and get all the horror she had predicted out of the way.

No, she wouldn't do it, but she wouldn't stay either. She didn't want to think about this, she just had to leave. She leaned in and kissed him softly and then gently slipped out of his arms. She quietly put her clothes back on. Looking back at Albus one more time she left.

Minerva did not speak with him or even send an owl to him for the first few days. She felt as though he should be the one to talk to her if he wanted. So Minerva returned to her life of work.

Every few days Fawkes used to come with a letter from Albus. The phoenix would burst through the wall brightly and land of Minerva's desk. The first few times this happened it would scare her coworkers. One had even gone into a nervous break down. Soon they got used to it and it became part of their normal everyday lives. However as the week progressed there was no Fawkes.

Her coworkers started joking around and teasing Minerva, asking her if she had had a fight with Albus or if he finally got himself a girlfriend that wasn't her. Minerva would smile and laugh weakly to ward off any real question. And it worked, for the most part. Jim was not so easily fooled and he was the first to stop teasing Minerva. It had been two weeks since he had seen Fawkes and he decided to talk to Minerva.

A part of their job was that every two weeks they had to have a medical exam. This was mostly so that if something like a major organ was accidentally transfigured or something it would be found and fixed before anything major happened. Jim took this opportunity to hold back Minerva and have a quick chat.

As always Minerva was one of the last to stop working making Jim's job easy. He quickly and smoothly walked over to her work station. "Hey."

Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Hi?"

"How are you doing?" He asked trying to stay casual while working a way to get to her feelings.

"I'm fine, Jim, how are you?"

"Good, great."

"Good." She responded and began to leave.

"Minerva, wait!"

She stopped and turned to face him. "What is it, Jim?"

"H-has something happened between you and Albus?" He noticed she stiffened at his name.

Quickly recovering Minerva smiled, "Nope, he's probably just busy."

"Okay, I just want to check because you seemed a bit down."

Minerva gave him a small, but true smile, "Thanks, but things are fine."

Jim nodded, feeling somewhat satisfied. "Well let's go." Minerva nodded and walked with Jim to the medical office.

Minerva shook her head later when she was alone in one of the medical rooms. Jim was so odd, she thought to herself. And yet nothing got by him and she knew that. It was only a matter of time before he would ask again and hopefully by then Minerva and Albus were on speaking terms.

The doctor entered the room staring at his note pad. He looked up briefly and smiled at Minerva before he went back to his notes. The old man sat down in a chair across from Minerva and placed his papers on the desk beside him. "Mind if I ask you some personal questions?"

Sighing, Minerva obliged, "Sure." Doctors always need to ask odd questions, part of their thorough examination or something.

"Are you married?"

Minerva's stomach dropped, "No."

"Fiancé, boyfriend?"

"No."

"Unofficial lover then?"

Minerva hesitated wondering if what happened two weeks prior counted, she quickly decided it didn't. "No." She replied.

"Ms McGonagall, I'm your doctor not your priest. Anything you tell only goes into my medical report to my self."

"I'm aware of that." She paused, her mind ticking away the possible outcomes of this conversation.

"How have you been feeling lately, any nausea?"

"A little," She paused, "Actually it's quite bad in the morning, but it doesn't last long."

He nodded picking up his note pad and then scribbled something down, "Are you sexually active?"

Minerva was completely thrown back at the reversal of conversation, "Doctor, where are you going with this?"

This time he sighed, "Well, as you know we have some of the most sensitive medical instruments in the country. We need them because-"

Minerva interrupted, "Because sometimes wizards and witches transfigure their organs into pocket watches. I know that, Doctor, but where is this going?"

"During your examination I picked something up, at first I thought nothing of it, but then something struck me. So I dug a bit deeper." Minerva stared at him and he had hoped she would have guessed. "Well…" He continued, "You're pregnant."

Minerva stopped breathing for a moment, "What?" She finally asked.

"Yes, it's true. I was pretty sure you weren't involved with anyone so I check several times. The embryo is about two weeks old."

"Are you sure, could this be a mistake?"

"Perhaps, but not likely, I will check again at you next examination, but I'm more then sure the results will be the same."

Minerva sat there for a moment stunned, neither her nor the doctor knew what to say. Then she smiled, "They weren't kidding when they said those instruments were powerful."

He chuckled, "So it is safe to say this was natural and not the result of some experiment gone wrong?"

"No, this is all natural." She said still smiling.

"I will have to tell your boss, you won't be allowed to do certain experiments."

Minerva looked at the old wizard, "Don't tell him yet, if you have to make something up, but this will be quite the shock for everyone."

The nodded and then said she could go. He said he would send pamphlets and letters for her new lifestyle by private owl to her home. She thanked him and went back to her desk. By the time she had got there a million thoughts had gone through her mind. The most prominent all concerned Albus. Suddenly overwhelmed she went to her boss' office to ask for the afternoon off.

She knocked and he called through for her to entered and asked, "Sir, could I have the afternoon off?"

He looked up at her from his desk and stared at her thoughtfully, "On one condition," he finally said.

"What's that?"

"Could you take this box to the Auror's department in the Ministry? They had contracted us and a charms company down the street to create it. I think this'll be more then what they need."

Minerva picked up the black box of his desk, "What is it?"

He shook his head, "Not really that important, supposedly top secret, just take it over there for me will you?"

"Sure." She replied.

Minerva returned one more time to her desk to find Jim sitting there waiting for her. She ignored him and picked up her cloak and bag. "Where are you going? He asked.

"Home," He raised an eyebrow, "I'm not feeling well." She lied, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"Uh-huh," he replied.

She ignored him again and went straight to the fireplace. Using the office floo powder she spun straight to the Ministry. And to her great displeasure the first person she saw was Albus. She quickly ducked into the crowd hoping her didn't spot her coming out of the fireplace.

She watched him for a moment as she pressed up against the wall to avoid being maneuvered somewhere else. He was standing by the fountain staring eccentrically at the statues. He was soon greeted by the Minister of Magic, an elderly man with a passion for heroes like Albus. Albus had turned slightly in Minerva's direction and she quickly ducked again into the crowd.

Not sure where the stream of magic users were going Minerva tried to steer herself towards the elevators. She had just broken free of a particular stubborn group of witches when she bumped into someone and dropped her box. Quickly apologizing and bending down to grab the box, she saw a very familiar pair of hands pick it up first. She looked up and as she straightened her self held eye contact with Albus.

"Minerva…" He breathed quietly; clearly he had not seen her face before he had picked up her box. He quickly recovered with a very believable smile, "Your box, Ms McGonagall." He said holding the box out for her.

She blushed slightly and took hit from his hands, "Thank you, Al-Professor."

The Minister stood by watching the interactions, something both Minerva and Albus caught sight of, Albus as the quickest to make their relationship something that was professional, "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you, and you?"

He smiled a little, "Very well."

Minerva nodded feeling as though the tension would never end, "Well, if you will excuse me," She held up her box a little, "I have a delivery."

"Of course," Albus replied quickly, then gesturing ahead of himself, "Minister." The Minister smiled and nodded to Minerva before both men headed towards his office. Minerva quickly walked in the opposite direction towards the elevators. She took a moment to look back, which she soon regretted because Albus was watching her. She then quickly got into the elevators and watched Albus disappear behind the closing doors.


	9. Chapter 9

Had there not been many people in the elevator with Minerva she would have been banging her head against the wall

Had there not been many people in the elevator with Minerva she would have been banging her head against the wall. Sighing to herself all Minerva could do was try not to think about what happened. But how could she have forgotten that he could be here? Out of all the places, she should have been more prepared for him. The elevator doors opened and she escaped into the cool hallway.

She began looking around, taking in her surroundings as she traveled down the hallways. Twice she nearly panicked thinking she saw him again, but both times it was some other bloke. Finally she came to the door she was looking for. On the transparent glass it read: _Ulleam Bain – New Age Medical Technician._ She knocked on the door and a middle aged wizard opened the door.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, I have something for you," She held up the box, "It's a special order."

He smiled and threw open the door, "Oh excellent! I've been waiting ages for that."

Minerva entered his office, which looked like any classic medical station. He closed the door behind them as Minerva placed the box on his desk. Minerva watched as he opened the box with shaky hands. From where she was standing she could see perfectly what was contained in the box. It looked like a large white marble.

However seconds later she realized exactly what it was because soon it began whizzing about in its place and Minerva saw that it was an eye. "Oh, this is perfect." Sighed the wizard. Minerva stood there nervously while he gazed almost lovingly at the eye and just when she thought he had forgotten her he jumped up. With a few swishes and a flick a pen wrote a not on a parchment and the parchment flew out the window.

The wizard turned to Minerva and handed her a small leather pouch that was filled with coins. "This is the rest of the payment."

"Thank you." Minerva replied. He opened the door for her and as she stepped out the door she almost ran into another wizard.

The second wizard was younger, with long straight black hair that was pulled back into a pony tale. One eye was hazel, while the other was covered by a leather eye patch. Minerva recognized this wizard from her school days.

And he recognized her, as she noticed when he smiled at her. Alastor Moody, was one of the few of Hufflepuffs that kept that house in league with the others. He was smart, brave, cunning and it was often whispered about the school that he chose, or rather told the sorting hat that he was going to be a Hufflepuff. He was of course a couple years older then Minerva, none-the-less, she felt during their school days they had competed for Dumbledore's favorite.

However his time out of school was not so grand to his features. Just from his hands and face she saw enough scars to know what kind of work he did for the Ministry. Alastor was an Auror. "Minerva McGonagall! Is that you!?"

Minerva mustered a kind smile, "How are you Alastor?"

"Not bad, 'cept for my eye." He said hinting towards the eye patch. There was a pause between them, "Do you mind waiting? I'd like to talk to you for a minute after I'm done with this old coot."

"Watch it, Alastor." The old wizard said threateningly, trying hard to suppress a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." And then he looked at Minerva for confirmation.

"Sure," She replied.

He smiled and the door closed behind the two wizards. Standing in the hallway felt like ages to Minerva. Every time someone came around the corner she jumped back and hoped it wasn't Albus. But every time she received a questioning look and that was it. Finally Alastor walked out of the room and Minerva nearly jumped again. The eye that she had just delivered was now inserted into the eye socket that was covered by the eye patch.

"Thank you for bringing this over, I've waited two years for this and it was worth it." The eye swiveled about in his head and it made Minerva wonder if she could get use to that.

"Your welcome." She said pulling her eyes away from his new one. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Alastor laughed, "That was just to make it official, some people in this department need to lighten up a little, which reminds me," They began walking down the hallway together as he spoke, "why aren't you in this department?"

Minerva smiled and sighed, "I know, several people have been pushing me towards that, but in honesty it's not where I want to be."

He nodded, "Odd though, I saw the way you took out that troll at the last battle. Kind of makes you look suspicious when you refuse a job offer from this department."

"How so?" She asked with a frown.

"I'm just saying, when someone refuses a job likes this, particularly with your talent, one wonders which side you would be on."

Minerva and Alastor stopped outside the lift, she stared at him hard and then burst out laughing, by the time she stopped laughing at Alastor the lift had arrived, "Alastor, relax, I'm a good guy. I would rather teach people then hunt them down."

Alastor smiled a little, "That sounds more like you…" He paused, "I apologize, and I just assumed that with your apprenticeship with Dumbledore, you aspired to such lengths as becoming an Auror."

At Dumbledore's name Minerva cringed, and Alastor noticed. He flicked his wand and mumbled some words. She felt a silencing charm fill the lift as it stopped and he looked at her carefully. "Why did you stop the lift?" She asked.

"What happened?" He asked sternly.

"Nothing!"

"Minerva, I am trained to pick up on these things and you shuddered when I said 'Dumbledore'. Now what happened?"

"It's nothing and none of your business."

He stared at her, "Has Dumbledore changed his ways? Is he thinking about taking over where Grindelwald left off?"

Minerva stared at him in disbelief and then she punched him in the gut, not hard, but enough to make a point. Alastor made a 'hmpf" sound. "You need to get out of that office more often. Albus would never, EVER change his ways, nor would he hurt anyone." Alastor stared at her with some disbelief. "You want proof? There is none." She paused; Minerva knew only too well the only proof would be to tell Alastor the truth. "Something happened between Dumbledore and me on a personal level, that's all."

Alastor stared at her for a few moments, before he straightened himself and allowed the lift to resume. Minerva noticed he didn't lift the silencing charm and so she felt in this moment for some reason beyond her control she needed his help and she needed to trust him. "Can you keep a secret?" She asked barely over a whisper.

Alastor raised an eyebrow and slowed the ascent of the lift, "Yes." He said quietly.

Her lips quivered and she barely allowed the words to leave her mouth, "I'm pregnant."

He looked down at her and she looked at the floor. He knew very well that she was not married and it took only half a second to connect this news with the previous conversation. She felt his mind ticking away as he tried to figure out why she was telling him this. Finally he whispered, "Congratulations."

She smiled slightly, "Thank you." Minerva looked up at Alastor. His normal eye stared at the door, while his magic eye swiveled about until it came to an abrupt stop, staring downwards.

Alastor sighed, "Prepare yourself-" He didn't get a chance to finish because the lifts doors opened. Standing in front on them was the Minister and Albus. Alastor guided Minerva past them; however they did not get very far.

"We will finish this another day, Minister, I have important school work to finish."

The Minister sighed, "Oh alright, how's Monday?"

"Monday will be fine, good day."

Alastor kept Minerva moving, but she could feel Albus' eyes on her and she knew without turning around he was following them. Minerva stopped and turned around in time to see Albus gliding through the crowds towards them.

Minerva could already feel the tension and awkwardness as he approached; Alastor must have sensed it as well because he was the first to say something, "Good afternoon, Headmaster."

"Good afternoon, Alastor." Albus beamed at Moody.

Alastor faked a smile, "How is the school these days?"

Albus chuckled, "Come now, Alastor, do you really want to talk about school?" Minerva noticed Alastor flushed a little out of embarrassment. Albus, however, seemed to take no noticed and moved on, "I'm so sorry to hear about the lack of funding to your department. I have tried my best to change the minister's mind, but he is stubborn."

Alastor nodded, "Yes, though the number of dark wizards have dwindled. We should remain prepared. Yet, since Grindelwalds downfall the ministry has become cocky."

"Indeed." There was a pause and Albus' eyes flitted a few time between Minerva and Alastor like he were calculating something. He then spoke with a tad more soberness then before, "And how are you, Ms. McGonagall?" His tone seemed more sensitive as if he were hoping to read her mind.

"Fine, Professor, and your self?"

"Very well, Aberforth asked about you, you should consider visiting him."

"I may."

Albus nodded, "I should be off." He nodded to Alastor and then to Minerva, "Good Day."

"Goody bye." Minerva said softly.

Albus then disappeared through a fireplace. Alastor grimaced, "Well that was sufficiently awkward."

Minerva laughed and together they left the Ministry, with Minerva hoping a solution would come soon.


End file.
